Under sina sju år på Coolidge College har Van Wilder skapat sig ett legendariskt rykte som skolans okrönta partykung och nu ska den plikttrogna Gwen Pearson skriva en artikel om honom till skoltidningen. Men det vilda livet verkar lida mot sitt slut då Van Wilders far, Vance, stryper pengaflödet. Sju år på college är mer än nog! Men så lätt låter sig inte "Van The Man" kuvas. För att kunna fortsätta sitt liv som evighetsstuderande festprisse, gör han upp skumma planer tillsammans med sina vänner.

Trapped in her own doll-like existence, Faith dreams that one day she can be a real mother to her daughter Nell she abandoned seven years ago. But time has run out. Her sister Eris can no longer keep the child. Her boyfriend Mance won't play father to a rape child. The girl is to be adopted. Desperate to save her dream, Faith takes her daughter into her dollhouse fantasy world, where bad things never happen. But she can't keep reality out. Nell wants a real mother. Mance thinks she's going mad. Eris thinks it's all an act. As the dollhouse reveals itself as thin veil covering the terrors of her past, Faith has to face her pain or be condemned to a life of shame.